“What could possibly be the reason you called us like this…?”
|I didn’t summon you. You came looking for me, didn’t you?|
“……”
That’s true.
I split the dimensions and when I jumped in, I found myself right in front of the God of the Underworld.
But the moment I jumped, I felt a sudden force grabbing and pulling us hard…
|It seems that our fate made this encounter possible.|
“……”
Hearing that arrogant voice, I realized right away.
Indeed, the God of the Underworld pulled us here.
But why? How come?
The God of the Underworld, who told me to take care of myself whenever I called, suddenly summoned me like this?
I could feel my body trembling, cold sweat rolling down.
It wasn’t just because of the tension.
The pressure being emitted by the God of the Underworld was crushing me as if my body would break.
“Is there anything in particular you need from me…?”
|Not really. I just wanted to have a chat.|
“A chat, you say…?”
|I just happened to appear while I was contemplating what to do about the seat of the Great Judge of the Underworld that you obliterated, so wouldn’t it be good to discuss that?|
“……”
I wondered what was going on…
It turned out I was right; he was angry with me.
The seat of the Great Judge came to me, but I refused to take responsibility and blew it up with ‘My Inner World’.
I thought that would return the seat to the God of the Underworld…
It seems that a destroyed seat doesn’t regenerate anymore.
I could see a glimmer in the gaze of the God of the Underworld looking down on me, as if he was pondering how to deal with this brat.
“I inadvertently destroyed the seat. I deeply apologize…”
|Such matters are all just pretense, aren’t they? If you remain by my side, how can it be anything less than the Great Judge? Regardless, since you have returned to my side, we can begin our work now. Are you prepared?|
“Ah…”
This is bad.
The reason the God of the Underworld was angry wasn’t because I destroyed the seat, but because I tried to run away.
No matter how I think about it, I can’t help but feel wronged.
Why do both Satan and the God of the Underworld keep wanting to use me?
“Well, uh… actually…”
|Hahahaha! Just kidding. You can relax. I have no intention of binding you against your will. After all, you’ll die and come to the Underworld, so we’ll meet again eventually. I won’t treat you too harshly.|
“……”
That last part was also a joke, right…?
For a moment, I could see my future as a spirit, endlessly repeating work by the God of the Underworld.
I must live righteously.
Absolutely no sins that would lead me to hell.
I silently vowed that to myself.
|You seem quite startled. Since I’m apologizing, if there’s anything you’re curious about, feel free to ask. I will answer anything.|
“I’d like to ask one thing: Is it possible to regenerate ‘My Inner World’ that has been destroyed?”
|Impossible.|
The unwavering answer came.
Once ‘My Inner World’ is destroyed, it’s over.
I had an instinct about that from the start, but receiving confirmation from the God of the Underworld made me acutely aware that I had crossed a point of no return.
“If so… Can the ‘existence’ that was erased by deleting that world be restored?”
|……|
For the first time, there was a delay in the response.
It was just a brief moment, but it felt like an unusual silence in a conversation with the God of the Underworld.
|There is a way.|
“What is it?!”
Hope suddenly surged within me.
I had resorted to extreme measures just to escape the Demon World, but if I could never recover my ‘existence’, returning to the current world would ultimately mean nothing.
If I couldn’t keep my promise to the heroines, it would be no different than not returning at all.
|Cultivate your inner world.|
“But you just said it couldn’t be regenerated?”
|Regeneration is impossible. However, it is certainly possible to cultivate it anew from the beginning.|
“……!”
If I smashed my inner world, that would be the end.
Although regenerating it is impossible, it seems I can create it completely anew.
Of course, it’s no simple task.
Creating it is far more complicated and difficult than destroying it.
But just having hope is enough.
Even if broken, knowing there is a path ahead makes me feel ready to take a step forward without hesitation.
“Thank you. This has been very helpful.”
|Aren’t you going to ask how to cultivate a new inner world?|
“I believe I should find that out myself. After all, it’s a problem that doesn’t have any tricks or shortcuts.”
Tricks?
Those are worthless.
I’ve always known this, but I truly realized it after coming to the Demon World.
The secrets of swordsmanship.
And how to infuse demonic energy with will.
While telling me all the ins and outs may be easy, it would only muddle things further.
If I had told my past self the tricks on how to condense and destroy ‘My Inner World’, I would’ve instinctively obsessed over those tricks, failing to even grasp the basics and never succeeding forever.
What’s important is not the superficial but the core.
Chasing shortcuts could yield some temporary gains, but would eventually leave one ensnared in a big pit and unable to escape.
Ultimately, only those who walk the proper path will reach the final destination.
That is precisely why Transylvania only taught me to “infuse your will into the sword.”
And why Astaroth kept telling me to “infuse your will into demonic energy.”
Perhaps when the time comes for me to teach someone, my own lines will not differ much.
|That… doesn’t seem like a mere realization a mortal could obtain. It sounds like something a spirit aged for millennia might say. Have you truly only lived once?|
“……!”
|Hahaha. That was another joke. What kind of shameless being repeats lives and consumes all the truths of the world? My job is to capture such beings who transcend logic and bring them back to reason, yet I see no such person before my eyes. They’ve either been erased or eliminated… As a powerless God of the Underworld, I have no idea who they are or where they are at all.|
“……”
It seems there’s a hint of anger mixed in with the glare directed at me.
My body is beginning to tremble.
I’ve definitely been found out.
Or maybe even if he didn’t find out, he is surely suspicious that I’m no ordinary mortal.
Yet the God of the Underworld only stares at me.
As he said, I’ve erased my identity and am in a state of non-existence.
Before his eyes, yet outside the realm of his influence.
“I-I promise, if I find that shameless being, I will present them to you one day.”
|I’d really appreciate it. If possible, I’d love to meet them in spirit form after death. In that state, I could explore how they transcended logic, how they erased their existence yet wandered around unscathed.|
“Y-Yes…”
That sounds chilling.
‘Tear them apart’… aren’t spirits not machines?
‘Let’s live righteously.’
Absolutely no dying and coming to the Underworld.
No matter what!
I firmly engraved that thought in my mind as I saw the God of the Underworld briefly pull his gaze away.
|Let’s make an appointment for the next time. It seems your body can’t handle any more of this.|
“Yes. Just one last question. It seems you don’t intervene with mortals unless they stray from the laws… But could you tell me why you drew in Belphegor, who was wandering through the dimensional rift, and why you pulled me here?”
|Why do you think I drew you in?|
“Excuse me?”
|Don’t you think you’re the one attracting me? Attraction is a mutual force. It can’t exist with only one side pulling.|
“……!”
I just now realized.
The reason the God of the Underworld knew we would meet again someday.
It was none other than I had failed to notice the force of attraction pulling me towards him.
The source of that attraction must be what Satan called a ‘being familiar with death.’
Although my identity has been completely erased,
It seems I cannot completely detach from the ‘being familiar with death’ as long as I do not perish.
‘The attraction has always been pulling me…’
Now I get it.
Not all powerful attractions need to be easily felt through the body.
Weak yet persistent attractions also always drew me nearer.
Among them is the attraction to the God of the Underworld.
It was this attraction that brought me right in front of him the moment I slashed through the dimensions of the Demon World.
Then, isn’t there also something else that constantly pulls me?
‘The connections in the current world are attracting me!’
I can feel it.
Until now, I hadn’t recognized the concept of attraction at all.
But now I feel the various forces, big and small, pulling me from different directions.
Surely, there’s the force attracting me from the Demon World.
The force from the God of the Underworld pulling me in.
The force beckoning me from the current world.
And then… there’s yet another force from an unknown source pulling me strongly.
[벨뇟뇬긱둑뒝뤠벙벨곗결흐]
[벨덱땍궤띤랑놔극뱝듕껏낍법많굶권롭뒨흐흐]
[베몄냈궉둠뢍멘꽥라대겨눴륌롼납납궉뢍뮐꽹듯됴땋닷뗑람괠멋벨덫뀄꽹또볐머렬베깩때받랖뤄흐흐]
At that moment, a system window floated before my eyes.
Was it because my existence was erased that the system window had become completely inoperative?
‘Somehow, I feel like I can handle the attraction.’
Just a while ago, I merely existed without understanding the concept of attraction.
But now, confidence swells within me that I can handle it as I please.
If attraction doesn’t exist in a place, it cannot pull me at all.
But if it exists, even if weak, I feel I can draw it towards myself.
“Thanks to you, I’ve gained an insight. I’ve found a clue to return to the current world.”
|You keep coming in uninvited, gaining insights, and then leaving. I truly look forward to when you return to the Underworld. This is the first time experiencing that mere mortal’s lifespan of less than a hundred years feels so long.|
“Hahahaha…”
Sorry, but I will never return to the Underworld again.
I forced a smile of that meaning at the God of the Underworld and filled my fingertips with demonic energy.
Really, if I stayed just a bit longer, the blood in my body would boil as if I were going to die at any moment.
“May you have longevity.”
I offered my farewell and slashed the air infused with demonic energy.
What lay before me was the vast vista of profound emptiness.
I took the hands of those who were covering their eyes and ears on either side and jumped inward.
‘It’s a matter of concentrating on the forces pulling me towards the current world, allowing the current world to draw me back.’
Just as I instinctively drew the God of the Underworld and found myself in front of him upon escaping the Demon World,
If I strongly attract the current world, I should be able to head there.
Of course, if the God of the Underworld plays a ‘trick’ and pulls me strongly again, no matter how hard I try, I will keep getting dragged back to him, but such pranks should be one-time only.
He isn’t the type to repeat jokes.
‘What will happen if I go in the direction of the pulling force from an unknown place?’
I felt a chill as I discovered something among the attractions that were approaching me.
And it wasn’t just one.
Where on earth is this pulling power coming from?
‘Could it be…?’
What if it’s the force attracting me from the real world?
That thought sparked a sudden rush of excitement within me.
I want to go see.
I don’t know where it is and have no idea if it’s a safe place, but the hope of returning to reality paralyzed my brain in an instant.
‘No. The promise comes first.’
But I quickly collected my thoughts.
Isn’t there a reason I escaped the Demon World by erasing my existence?
To return to the heroines.
To avoid seeing them weep.
‘Has it been about ten days? I got out more quickly than expected. Please be safe…’
I can feel the pulling force toward the current world growing stronger.
The strength of the forces from my connections pulling me in is increasing.
And my own power to pull them is also strengthening.
And then, in the very next moment.
The once pitch-black vision was suddenly filled with bright light.
